Extremely dark book that covers difficult topics.
The writing was excellent but I did not enjoy the subject matter.

I am a huge fan of the author Elif Shalak! I read her other book "The Island of Missing Trees" and I rated it highly as well. Shalak writes really beautifully and she always puts in an element of magic to her historical fiction, which I find really interesting. In this story, we follow three people Narin, Arthur and Zaleekah. In the beginning, I found the connection between characters really unlikely but Shalak proves me wrong and weaves their stories together seamlessly. The author explores the magical element of water, and how water can actually remember events that occur. There were so many beautiful quotes in this book and this story will stay with me long after I have read it. Shalak is also one of the only authors I know writing about Turkey and the area of Mesopotamia. I am always eager to learn about these cultures and she explains their way of life very clearly. I will always be looking forward to more books from Elif Shalak.

This novel truly took my breath away. It is a historical fiction tale that weaves 3 narratives together across generations connecting them through a drop of water. I absolutely loved Elif Shafak’s previous book “The Island of Missing Trees” and this one did not disappoint. One of my favorite books of the year for sure. The amount of research that went into creating this story and maintaining historical accuracies is unfathomable. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley for an opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a book you will want to buy to keep on your bookshelf and as a back-pocket recommendation for others. There Are Rivers in the Sky is a captivating, poignant exploration of identity, belonging, and the unseen forces that shape our lives. Elif Shafak’s prose is beautifully rendered, and her characters are complex and deeply human. While the narrative structure may challenge some readers, the novel’s emotional depth and philosophical insights make it a compelling read for anyone interested in stories that engage with both the personal and the political. Highly recommended.

I love Elif Shafak writing style.

This is beautifully written I just loved the multiple views and time lines. The character build was interesting and i just wanted to find out what was happening with the characters. I love how it all came together and will be buying this book for my shelf.

The cover is stunning as well. Will recommend and read more from the author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

The beautiful prose and storytelling of the author is staggering. I loved the multiple points of views spread over vast time periods. The directions and course of each character throughout the book was interesting to watch. I loved this history and strong sense of place that was established. I ultimately loved the beginning place of Ninevah and how each was connected to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the gifted e-arc of this book.

Elif Shafak is a really good writer. I really liked her writing style. I loved the first chapter - following the story from the point of view of the drop of water and its perspective and "feelings". I was really excited after the first chapter. However, even though water has a big presence in the book, she quickly dropped this structure for the rest of the narrative. I was let down by that.

But that wasn't my only hurdle with the book. Even if the writing is really good, I didn't care at all about any of the characters and their stories and struggles. I was a little bit interested on Arthur because of his interest in history but even him I really didn't care about. There isn't anything wrong with any of them, I was just completely uninterested on the book.

I thought the book to be really dull to be honest.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

Such an interesting story. Three characters with overall
Sad stories to tell their lives history and the history of their heritage and how it shaped their lives. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

When I heard Elif Shafak was writing her next novel heavily inspired by Assyria I almost cried. As an Assyrian, it is an honor to have our history and identity shared with the world through the pen of such a gifted writer. Overall, I found the story a little difficult to connect with. I found it a little heavy handed and I could see clearly what the author was doing in crafting vs getting lost in the words and story.

The book begins with a drop of water, which touches the lives of various characters across various timelines spanning centuries. Author Elif Shafak brilliantly weaves this historical fiction novel's strands: three different characters, two different rivers (the Tigris and the Thames), and the ancient Mesopotamian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Assyrian city of Nineveh is also common ground for the three characters. This novel's truths are hard truths. They are bitter medicines to swallow, but there are glimmers of sweet hope as well as troves of rich historical and cultural tidbits.

[Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

This is a multilayered and multiple time framed story of three characters connected through time by single drop of water. An all encompassing novel about words and ideas, about good and evil, tying past to near present with water. At times it felt a little too ambitious and a little slow moving. However, it merits 4 stars for the beautiful writing and wonderful characters, my favorite of whom was Arthur .

I received a copy of this from Knopf through NetGalley.

This was an absolutely beautiufl novel. The alternating timelines and viewpoints started fractured, but fit together perfectly in the end. it was a wonderful tale navigating Iranian history with modern reality. The characters were fascinating, real and fantastic.

This book is one of my absolute favorites of the year. There Are Rivers in the Sky reminded me so strongly of Cloud Cuckoo Land in the ways the authors masterfully wove the different stories together, all centered around the theme of water and cuneiforms. I cannot stop thinking and talking about this book. It's a masterpiece.

I wasn’t able to review this book before it’s publish date but now that I have read it I am giving it 4 stars.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a lyrical work of historical fiction told in three timelines over centuries, following well-drawn characters connected by a single drop of water. It’s moving and beautifully told and will likely stay with you long past the final page.

Thank you Elif Shafak, Knopf, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is my second Elif Shafak book and she’s has established herself as one of the best writers of the 21st century. This book is ambitious, beautiful, and heartbreaking.

Shafak’s story, inspired by The Epic of Gilgamesh but encompassing ideas about memory and the interconnection of all humans, starts in ancient Nineveh. Thousands of years later, Shafak introduces a Assyriologist in Victorian London, a little girl in modern Turkey and Iraq, and modern hydrologist who all intersect through the twists and turns of history and nature.

The best part of the book is Shafak’s poetic writing. Every sentence is a work of art.

The way a drop of water travels from a raindrop falling on a man in Mesopotamia to a snowflake falling on a very different man in Victorian England to a drop of water drunk by a modern little girl in the mountains of Iraq is a stunning display of humanity. And the story of the Yazidi community is devastating, but important.

If I have any complaints, one story has greater emotional impact than the others, which isn’t surprising since twice the pages are spent on one character over the others. But I still sobbed at the end and felt like the author absolutely nailed what she was going for.

This is a towering achievement that I will remember for a long time.

Rivers connect the world and the people that live on them. This book trascneds time and space to show the connects over time and space between people on these rivers. The conenction between the ancient history. and the world today makes the reader thinkn about the conenctions between all of us and how the world changes but still stays the same.“Water remembers. It is humans who forget.” This quotes stuck with me as we look at the ideas of climate changes and how the choices we make in the past are the things that can affect our future.

I’ve never been able to resist an Elif Shafak book even though I quarrel with them sometimes. Her newest is definitely ambitious, with beautiful writing and felt very well researched. I blame Olaf/Frozen 2 for not being able to take water having memory seriously.

This is a masterful work. Each story weaves in and out of each other, and each one is so immersive. I did find myself yearning for Arthur’s story whenever we moved away from him, but that just goes to show how talented Shafak is in getting the reader involved in the story, especially a story so important as this one.

Interesting theme. I enjoyed the story overall and appreciated getting a better feel for some areas and times with which I wasn't all that familiar.

I won't say I exactly enjoyed all the ways the stories intersected (because of the events, not the storytelling) but the story did keep my attention for the most part. I did have some trouble connecting with all three main characters, but I'm chalking that up to just not being on the same wavelength as the author.

Big picture, it was a good story and I'm glad I read it.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.